Lake Banook judges' tower in Dartmouth getting $2.5M rebuild for canoe, kayak events - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Lake Banook judges' tower in Dartmouth getting $2.5M rebuild for canoe, kayak events

The 1987 building is being completely re-done to modernize the building and accommodate newer technology for canoe and kayak races.

Facility is on track to open before this summer's North American Indigenous Games

The tower in cladding and scaffolding is seen from the shoreline, with planks of wood visible on the grass in the foreground.
The judge's tower on Lake Banook in Dartmouth, N.S., is being rebuilt through a $2.5-million project, mostly funded by the province and the Halifax Regional Municipality. It will feature a new large room for judging. (Robert Short/CBC)

Workers are hammering away on the waters of Lake Banookin Dartmouth, N.S., to bring its distinctivejudges'tower into the 21st century.

The 1987 building is being modernized toaccommodatethe technology now used incanoe and kayak races. It was originally built for the 1989 junior world championships.

"The idea here is this building will last for the next 40 years," said Stephen Gallant, vice-chair of Canoe 22.

Gallant's group was behind the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships this past summer.

A white man with white hair stands in front of a lake, looking directly into the camera.
Stephen Gallant is vice-chair of Canoe 22, which hosted the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Dartmouth in 2022. (Robert Short/CBC)

He said the original plan was to have the new tower ready in time for those games, "but the world didn't agree with us." Gallant said the COVID-19 pandemic and supply-chain issues meant they couldn't get key materials, like steel, in time.

Besides modern heating and plumbing, and eventual wheelchair access via a pedway, Gallant said a major change will be to the frontor "nose" of the tower.

A large square room with plenty of space for people to set up laptops will be built, which will replace the old stairs where judges would sit with stopwatches looking over the lanes to time people.

A black and white drawing on the left shows a tall tower with slanted roof and square room on the front above slits leading into the water. The right side of the image shows a rendering in colour of the same tower.
Drawings of the new judge's tower on Lake Banook. (Canoe 22)

"Nowadays it's all computer, it's all cameras It's just different now," Gallant said.

The changes will make sure Banook stays a high-calibre venue that ensures young paddlers can excel at home, Gallant said.

"There are many areas in Canada that they have to travel to us, or they have to travel to the two or three canoe-kayak places in the country that are international level," Gallant said.

The tower has also become a landmark in Dartmouth, and Gallant said locals shouldn't worry about that changing the classic silhouette with the slanted roof will stay.

The $2.5-million dollar project was mostly funded by the province ($1.5 million) and Halifax Regional Municipality ($700,000).

Coun.Sam Austin, who represents the area on municipal council, said it's a worthwhile investment to make sure Banook can keep attracting major events.

The front view of the tower shows scaffolding around the wooden frame, and a crane to the left side.
The new judge's tower is expected to be ready by April. (Robert Short/CBC)

"There is a certain element of 'you got to keep up with the Joneses,'" Austin said. "What was good in 1980s is getting pretty tired today. So it's essential work to make sure that we're still competitive."

Austin also said the new tower comes amid other investments around the lake, like the terraced seating on Silver's Hill, a new multi-usebuilding at Kiwanis Grahams Grove Park, and provincial support for renovations to the Banook Canoe Club.

"It's good to see. It's good for the city," Austin said.

The tower is on track to open in April, in plenty of time for the lake's next big event,the North American Indigenous Games in July.

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